


Musings

by vivianne_leigh



Category: BioShock
Genre: Cults, Flash Fic, Gen, Guilt, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Isolation, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Self-Reflection, Underwater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 05:04:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8954743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivianne_leigh/pseuds/vivianne_leigh
Summary: Surrounded by the dead, dying, and deceptive, Eleanor finds some time to think.





	

It is late at night- or whatever passes for late night down in Rapture- when Eleanor sees a flicker of motion outside the windows of Persephone, a sinuous shadow easing its way through the murky water.

  
The low light makes the shape blurry, but as she peers at it through the thick glass it swivels its head towards her, porthole leaking a vivid red into the dark. The Big Sister outside pauses for a moment before swimming off, bayonet glittering like sunken treasure before fading away. She’s seen one of them without a helmet, once- an Asian girl, dark eyed and furious, the pallor of her sun-starved skin only highlighted by the blood running from her split lip. The protector had taken off her helmet to get a closer look at a corpse before being interrupted. For days afterward, Eleanor dreamt about the other girl- the fluid, semi-feral grace behind her movements, the eyes that were at once alert and yet somehow glassy, with bloodshot streaks lingering in the corners. It had taken her days to understand the damage she had seen; she’d finally realized it was the ocean, pressing down on her body like a fist and shredding delicate tissue.

  
The revelation had made her dizzy with emotions- disgust with her mother and pity for the broken minds she was using, and a quickly suppressed stab of relief. The sight of yet another of Big Sister so soon after was unsettling- it filled her with guilt, and the breathless combination of fear and gratefulness when she realized how close she had been to joining their ranks. A line from a story she'd read leaped to the front of her mind, unbidden, and she sobbed out a burst of weepy laughter at its accuracy.

  
_There but for the grace of God, go I._

  
Sitting in a prison with the ocean on her shoulders, Eleanor Lamb had never felt less graced.


End file.
